Nonadherence to anti-tuberculosis treatment, reasons and associated factors among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in the communities in Indonesia

Abstract

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s major public health problem. We assessed the proportion, reasons, and associated factors for anti-TB treatment nonadherence in the communities in Indonesia. Methods This national coverage cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2013 to 2014 with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling. Based on the region and rural-urban location. The 156 clusters were distributed in 136 districts/cities throughout 33 provinces, divided into three areas. An eligible population of age ≥15 was interviewed to find TB symptoms and screened with a thorax x-ray. Those whose filtered result detected positive followed an assessment of Sputum microscopy, LJ culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF. Census officers asked all participants about their history of TB and their treatment—defined Nonadherence as discontinuation of anti-tuberculosis treatment for <6 months. Data were analyzed using STATA 14.0 (College Station, TX, USA). Results Nonadherence to anti-TB treatment proportion was 27.24%. Multivariate analysis identified behavioral factors significantly associated with anti-TB treatment nonadherence, such as smoking (OR = 1.78, 95% CI (1.47–2.16)); place of first treatment received: government hospital (OR = 1.45, 95% CI:1.06–1.99); private hospital (OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.38–2.72); private practitioner (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.56–3.23); socio-demographic and TB status included region: Sumatera (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.05–1.98); other areas (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.30–2.61); low level of education (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.27–2.03); and current TB positive status (OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.26–3.73). Conclusions Nonadherence to anti-TB drugs was highly related to the personal perception of the respondents, despite smoking, current TB status, a place for the first treatment, education, and region. The position of the first TB treatment at the private practitioner was significantly associated with the risk of Nonadherence to treatment.